Starsiege is a
mechaMecha, also known as meka or mechs, are walking vehicles controlled by a pilot, often appearing in anime, science fiction, or other genres involving a fantastic or futuristic element. Mecha are generally, though not necessarily, bipedal, with arms, hands, and fingers capable of grasping objects...
-style
vehicle simulation gameVehicle simulation games are a genre of video games which attempt to provide the player with a realistic interpretation of operating various kinds of vehicles. Rollings and Adams note that "the vast majority of vehicle simulators are flight simulators and driving simulators"...
developed by
DynamixDynamix, Inc. was an American developer of computer games from 1984 to 2001, best known for their flight simulator, Red Baron, the Front Page Sports series and their online multiplayer game, Tribes.-History:...
and released in 1999.
Starsiege is set in the
Earthsiege universe, which contains its predecessors
EarthsiegeMetaltech: Earthsiege is a mecha-style simulation game developed by Dynamix and released in 1994. Earthsiege is the first in a long line of games set in the same universe which include: Battledrome , Earthsiege 2 , Cyberstorm , Cyberstorm 2 , Starsiege , Starsiege: Tribes , Tribes 2 , and Tribes:...
(1994),
Battledrome (1995), and
Earthsiege 2Earthsiege 2 is a mecha-style vehicle simulation game developed by Dynamix, produced by Frank Evers , and released in 1995. Earthsiege 2 is set the Earthsiege universe, which contains its predecessors Earthsiege and Battledrome , as well as action game Hunter Hunted , strategy games Cyberstorm ...
(1995), as well as action game
Hunter Hunted (1996), strategy games
Mission Force: Cyberstorm (1997) and
Cyberstorm 2: Corporate WarsCyberStorm 2: Corporate Wars is a turn-based strategy game developed by Dynamix and released in 1998 as a sequel to MissionForce: CyberStorm...
(1998), and first-person shooters
Starsiege: TribesStarsiege: Tribes is a sci-fi first-person shooter video game. It is the first of the Tribes video game series and follows the story from Earthsiege and Starsiege...
(1998),
Tribes 2Tribes 2 is a sci-fi first-person shooter computer game based in the fictional Earthsiege universe. As the name indicates it is the second game in the Tribes franchise, following Starsiege: Tribes. It was developed by Dynamix and published by the company then known as Sierra Entertainment in...
(2001), and
Tribes: VengeanceTribes: Vengeance is a sci-fi first-person shooter computer game of the Tribes video game series. It was developed by Irrational Games and released by Sierra Entertainment in October 2004. It was built on an enhanced version of the Unreal Engine 2/2.5, which Irrational Games called the...
(2004).
Starsiege is the end of the
EarthsiegeMetaltech: Earthsiege is a mecha-style simulation game developed by Dynamix and released in 1994. Earthsiege is the first in a long line of games set in the same universe which include: Battledrome , Earthsiege 2 , Cyberstorm , Cyberstorm 2 , Starsiege , Starsiege: Tribes , Tribes 2 , and Tribes:...
series and the beginning of the Tribes series.
Plot
United as one Empire, Earth and its colonies on Luna, Mars, and Venus are led by the Immortal Emperor Solomon Petresun. Under his leadership, Earth is prosperous. Defended by the Imperial Navy and the elite Imperial Knights, Earth is safe.
On Mars and Venus, colonists live under harsh Imperial law. The Emperor has continually tightened his grip on Mars and Venus, reducing colonial liberties and increasing production quotas. While Petresun believes that the only hope for humanity's survival is to focus all attention on defending Earth, many colonists are not willing to lose their freedom to protect only Earth. And so a rebellion is rising on Mars, lead by old and new heroes, and the Imperial Knights are preparing to crush this rebellion.
The Great Human Empire is directly represented in the game by two main groups, the Imperial Police and the Imperial Knights. The Imperial Police are the enforcers of Imperial law on Mars and Venus. They are reasonably well outfitted with HERCs and tanks, though they do not possess nearly as much equipment or experience as the Knights. The Imperial Knights are the Emperor's best, the most skilled HERC and tank pilots in the Empire, and amongst the most honored and respected citizens. Led by Grand Master Caanon Weathers, the Knights are charged with the defense of Earth and the suppression of insurrections. As the elite, the Knights have access to the Empire's finest technology, including specially modified tanks and HERCs. The Knights are far more deadly than the Imperial police, and should they be sent to Mars, would present a serious challenge for the rebellion.
The rebellion on Mars emerged as two distinctive groups in 2802, the Free Martian Alliance and the Martian Liberation Front. While the Free Martian Alliance seeks to damage the Empire economically through the sabotage or capture of convoys and supplies, the MLF takes a more violent approach, attacking Imperial troops and sympathizers. The rebels operate out of uncharted mining tunnels, giving them the freedom to make quick strikes and then retreat beneath the surface. One of the rebellion's most valuable assets lies in Bek Storm, a general in the Free Martian Alliance. Piloting modified mining Hercs and tanks, the Rebellion is also in possession of an artifact called the Tharsis Cache. The Tharsis Cache was discovered by rebels on Mars when digging new tunnels. Within the cache lay powerful weaponry, belonging to a long dead alien race. The alien technology adapted easily to human use, and the new power of these weapons gave the rebels a fighting chance against the Imperial Police.
The Cybrids are the race of robotic sentients responsible for Earth's near-destruction in
The Fire. Prometheus still leads the Cybrids, and is revered with god-like status. The Cybrids' existence with the single goal of the eradication of humanity. For two centuries, since the end of the second Earthsiege, they have been rebuilding on the outer planets of the solar system in preparation for their next attack. Now the Cybrid armada contains hundreds of ships and thousands of Hercs and tanks, enough to launch a third and final attack on humanity. Like the Martian rebels, the Cybrids have discovered a cache of hidden alien technology and adapted it to their own use, though the Cybrid cache does not match the level of the Martian one. The Cybrid elite are known as the Platinum Guard, and like the Imperial Knights have their own modified Hercs.
A little known dissident faction also begins to form within the Cybrid community itself, the Metagens. During the Cybrid missions the player is ordered to hunt down and destroy the Metagen units. Little is mentioned of them from the human side of the campaign other than in the final mission of the campaign where it is mentioned that for "unknown reasons" many Cybrids that are supposed to be guarding Prometheus have been seen abandoning their posts and refusing to fire on the humans.
Gameplay
As a simulation,
Starsiege offers players the ability to pilot a wide variety of massive bipedal war machines known as
HERCULANs (Humaniform-Emulation Roboticized Combat Unit with Leg-Articulated Navigation) (or 'HERCs' for short), as well as several tanks. Set in 2829,
Starsiege contains an array of advanced technology, and numerous upgrades are available for each vehicle.
Starsiege takes place across a number of planets and moons in the
solar systemThe Solar System consists of the Sun and those celestial objects bound to it by gravity, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago...
, offering a range of different locations throughout the game and in multiplayer battles, including Earth, Titan, Luna, Mars, Venus, and Mercury. There are two campaigns, Human and Cybrid. The human campaign places the player as a member of the Free Martian Alliance.
Gameplay in
Starsiege revolves around mechanized combat - piloting HERCs and tanks in combat against opposing vehicles. Both types of vehicles can be controlled via any combination of keyboard, joystick, or mouse. Every vehicle has a unique performance, though this can be modified somewhat through customization of parts. Customizing the player's vehicle is an important element of gameplay, particularly in multiplayer - a proper balance between all of the components is necessary to assure the player a reasonable chance of success.
Multiplayer gameplay includes classic modes
deathmatchDeathmatch may refer to:*The Death Match, a wartime association football match in 1942 between Soviet POWs and Nazi soldiers.*Hardcore wrestling, a form of professional wrestling that eschews traditional concepts of match rules...
, team deathmatch, and
capture the flagCapture the flag is a traditional outdoor sport often played by children or sometimes adults where two teams each have a flag and the objective is to capture the other team's flag, located at the team's "base", and bring it safely back to their own base...
.
Reception
Starseige received moderately good critical reception.
IGNIGN is a multimedia news and reviews website that focuses heavily on video games...
awarded 7.7 out of 10, highlighting the well presented package and cutscenes, graphically impressive (whilst sparse) landscapes, intuitive controls and the longevity of the multiplayer mode. The minimal sound effects were criticised, with muddled voice-overs, and some of human HERC models were felt to be a bit bland and generic.